Skip to main content

Göteborg seeks alternatives to congestion charge

Göteborg, Sweden, city officials are looking at alternative ways to improve air quality in the city after a proposed congestion charge was rejected by citizens in a referendum last September. A study commissioned by the City Executive Office has been examining the impact of a number of different initiatives, including more accessible, free or reduced-price public transport, and speed restrictions. “There is no other single measure that has the same effect on the environment and congestion that the cha
January 20, 2015 Read time: 1 min
Göteborg, Sweden, city officials are looking at alternative ways to improve air quality in the city after a proposed congestion charge was rejected by citizens in a referendum last September.

A study commissioned by the City Executive Office has been examining the impact of a number of different initiatives, including more accessible, free or reduced-price public transport, and speed restrictions.

“There is no other single measure that has the same effect on the environment and congestion that the charge has,” said traffic councillor Johan Nyhus. “However, with a number of combinations it may be possible to achieve the same effect.”

Göteborg has made available funds of US$1.7 million for the new solution. The study is set to be completed by the end of January 2015.

Related Content

  • America explores road user charging options
    November 27, 2017
    Jack Opiola casts an eye over the numerous road user charging pilots underway in the US. In the USA, congestion mitigation and improving mobility have often focused on network improvements, increased road capacity, improved public transport, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or ‘express lanes’ and ITS measures – all of which require political capital and major funding. Nowadays, political capital is as hard to obtain as funding because more political leaders are recognising the decline of fuel excise tax in
  • Managing congestion, better information changes perceptions
    January 31, 2012
    Kapsch's Dietrich Leihs talks about the true fundamentals of urban pricing. In some Italian and German towns and cities, the solution to congestion is an outright ban on certain types of vehicles. As far as Dietrich Leihs is concerned, any attempt to sweeten the pill that is congestion charging is only ever going to be a partial success at best.
  • Siemens Mobility is clearing the air
    October 2, 2020
    Tens of thousands of premature deaths in the UK alone are linked to air quality - but it doesn’t have to be that way. Siemens Mobility’s Wilke Reints explains why
  • Covid-19 cleared the air: ITS can keep it clean
    July 31, 2020
    Covid-19 has created cleaner air: ITS can help keep it that way – but it’s not going to be straightforward, as Graham Anderson discovers